But the 19-year-old's performance in the final against Brazilian champions Santos demonstrated that he is ready to inherit the coveted number 10 which once belonged to Diego Maradona and, more recently, Juan Roman Riquelme.

"Carlitos", who still bears the scars of a household accident he suffered when he was less than one year old, was the inspiration as Boca beat Santos 3-1 in Sao Paulo's Morumbi stadium on Wednesday to complete an emphatic 5-1 aggregate victory.

Tevez refused to be intimidated in the face of constant fouling by the Santos defenders. He simply picked himself up and continued to torment his markers.

He was rewarded with the crucial opening goal, after he and Sebastian Battaglia sliced open the Santos defence with a stunning exchange of passes, and a car for winning the man of the match award.

He already has a $25 million price tag around his neck and has attracted the interest of German champions Bayern Munich. But he refuses to get carried away.

Tevez, who like many top Argentine footballers hails from humble origins, can now afford surgery to remove the marks left on his neck when a pot of boiling water fell on him. But he says they are part of his personality and will remain.

In inspiring Boca to their third Libertadores title in four year, Tevez outshone two rival teenagers who led Santos to the Brazilian championship title last December.

Diego and Robinho, whose outrageous dribbling skills have already led to comparisons with Pele, were billed as two of South America's hottest properties before the tie but were unable to shine against the rigid Boca marking.

Boca's win, coupled with the emergence of Tevez, also provided another demonstration of Argentine football's remarkable ability to replenish its resources.

The team which began Wednesday's second leg match included only two survivors -- full-back Hugo Ibarra and midfielder Sebastian Battaglia -- from the side which won a penalty shootout against Palmeiras in the same Morumbi stadium to win the title three years ago.

The pillars of that team -- Walter Samuel, Riquelme and striker Martin Palermo -- were all sold to European clubs, yet Boca, under wily coach Carlos Bianchi, have managed to build a new team without spending large sums of money.

Santos, meanwhile, were left to reflect on their first major disappointment under the remarkable reign of Emerson Leao, who took over almost exactly one year ago.

When Leao arrived, Santos were a group of unknown youngsters in which the club's fans had little faith.

Club directors offered to reinforce the team with more experienced players but Leao turned them down and within six months had led his team to their first-ever Brazilian national championship title.

Another six months on and Leao's team, whose average age is still under 23, were in the final of the South American equivalent of the Champions League.

"This is a sad, bitter day but we are aware we represented Brazil, everyone would like to be in this final," Leao said. "We've done a lot in these six months for Santos.

"It will do them good, it will give them another dose of wisdom. They are very young and they still have time to win a lot of Libertadores Cups."